Wizards in Winter

There are time when I complain about being busy....  but let's face facts.  No one is as busy as Santa this time of year.  Photo ops to create at every mall in the world, meeting a deadline for making all those toys with a work force of elves, all leading up to one big night of deliveries without Brown doing anything for him at all.  He truly has to be one of the Wizards in Winter to make this all happen.

All these demands on his time makes every visit a bit more special.  So when the 8 tiny reindeer brought the big guy to Pittston for a breakfast with the Home Depot staff and their families... I felt privileged to be asked to photograph the event.  Of course..... FotoFink has a bit more to say about things.....

Sure- Santa is great.... but the elf really makes or breaks the scene.

For the most part, kids love Santa.  For the most part.

It's not fair to have favorites....  I'm a parent too- I know that my kid's photos were always better than the others.  Still...  Can this kid work that hat or what?

Love it when Santa brings out the kid in all of us.

Giving back to Santa.  This girl gets it.

Proof of Santa's magic, Part 1-  This girl goes from scared to happy in the lap in no time.

Part 2- this happy couple becomes this engaged couple.  Need a wedding photographer?

Best line of the day.... "Would you like to sit on Santa's lap?"   Look of disgust.....  "I'm THIRTEEN"  We were also informed that she is amazing.  Good to know.

Another gift for Santa.... LOVE these kids!

Nice to see that the Grinch and Santa have worked things out.  Apparently, three sizes were enough.

Some shameless marketing....  There is still time to schedule a Christmas shoot.  Contact me at sfinkernagel@hotmail.com for details.... you can still have the coolest Christmas cards ever!

Enough from me..... here are some photos-

Breakfast with Santa

FotoFink

Enjoy!

Just Another Night

Nothing unusual here- the girls of Holy Redeemer traveled to Meyers for a volleyball match.  Redeemer  was clearly the better team this time- winning the match in three straight games.  Just another night on the busy WVC sports schedule, right?

No.  But we'll get back to that.  For now- here's something else to consider.

How do you gauge the success of an athletic program- say.... a volleyball team?  You could look at how much things improve as players pass from JV to Varsity.  You could look at the legacy of the team- do the alumnae come back to watch?  Try looking at the girls on the team- are they having fun?  How about off the court- does god's light shine on them?  Do they come together to bond as one?  Do they play as a team?  Can they jump serve?  How about fan support- Do they draw a lot of spectators?  How about coaching- is your head coach adored by lovely ladies of all generations?  You could and should look at all of this- because after all, winning isn't everything.

You can pick any of those topics- but the one thing you can't ignore is simple- wins and losses.  Remember this post?   Most of you probably don't- it was a long time ago when we wondered how long the Royals dominance of the local volleyball scene would continue.  We still don't have an answer to that, but we know it's still going strong.  With the win over Meyers, the Lady Royals volleyball team notched its 100th consecutive regular season victory.  Say what you will.... it's tough to argue with success.

Some more sights from around the game-

It wouldn't be a volleyball photoshoot if Sara and Nicole didn't do this.  Thanks to Alyssa for jumping in too.

The next generation.

The man at the top.  He mentioned how much he loves the spotlight, and baloons that look like hemorrhoid cushions.

The whole batch of photos is not ready yet....  but when it is, you will be able to see them here.

The whole site, as always, is here.

Enjoy!

Where Do You Think You're Going?

As Fall approaches, preparations are underway here at the house of FotoFink.  In general, this is shaping up to be the busiest season ever, thanks to girls' soccer moving to a fall season.  (Who thought that was a good idea?  I have my theory....)  In order to keep things sane, and so Mrs FotoFink isn't constantly asking "Where do you think you're going?"...  here is the official, written in ink, shooting schedule for the fall season.

A few items of note.....

"Written in ink" is a bit tongue in cheek.  It's going to rain.  Hopefully not like last year, but still... it's going to rain.  This schedule is more of a framework.

36 or 37 stops in about 2 months.  36 different teams covered, although... preference is definitely shown to the ones who have shown interest (bought photos) in the past.  Favored teams include Holy Redeemer and Wyoming Area Field Hockey, HR and Crestwood Soccer, HR and CW Volleyball, and HR Football.  The teams from Wilkes will also be well represented.  Interested in having more coverage for your team?  Want to schedule a session for team, individual or senior photos?  Contact me- sfinkernagel@hotmail.com, and we can discuss what it takes to make the list.

Added to the list are HR tennis, which has never been covered, and HR Cross Country, which has had very sparse coverage in the past.  Tennis is actually tentative, pending my contact with that program, but I hope to be able to include them in the mix for the first time ever.

Noticeably absent from the list are the West Pittson Rams.  I deeply regret that the Rams board and I were not able to come to terms with issues surrounding field access and photo sales, and as a result, the difficult decision was made to eliminate the Rams photos for the coming season.  I have truly enjoyed my time shooting both the football and cheer groups there, and the friendships that have resulted.  Rams photos from years past will remain on the site, but... not forever.  Count on them being removed sometime after 10/1.

A few changes to the site this year as well.  Most importantly, photos will no longer be available forever.  At some point after the season, photos will be removed, so shoppers will have a deadline to make their decisions.  That window will be generous, but not indefinite.  Plenty of warning will be given.

Our photo above truly is the lovely Mrs. FotoFink, running in the "Color Me Rad" 5k race in June.  It doesn't really fit the theme at all... but it was one of the more interesting shoots from the summer.  Our musical link is another Dire Straits track- Happy Birthday to Mark Knopfler, who turns 63 on the day of this post.

Nothing new on the site for most of our readers, but for you nostalgia buffs- Here is the whole thing- www.fotofink.net

Enjoy!

Ch- Ch-Changes....

Something new this time out for the Whitewater Cup teams- We will be at the tournament all weekend, but we will only be shooting teams that have contracted with us in advance to do so.  Why the changes?  Several things should be better for all of us.

For the teams- More photos, less dollars.  Pay one fee up front, and we will deliver full resolution jpg files of every shot from your game.  You can print your photos where you like, share them online, etc.- without restriction.  For an amount equal to about 2 average sized orders- you will have many more shots, and much more flexibility than previous tournaments.

For our staff-  Less waste.  For prior tournaments, we have processed literally tens of thousands of photos trying to shoot every team there, with only a small percentage of those actually being purchased.  This way, we can focus our efforts on the teams that want photos- and not bother those that do not.  You'll get more photos faster, and with less effort from us.

Reviews of this process have been stellar-

North Babylon Thunder-
Wow....great job......you guys did a great job thank you......im sure everyone will be impressed with these pics.....hopefully we will see you at the next tournament.....

Foothills Lightning-
I just viewed the photo gallery! Great job on the photos!
Thank you,


Triboro Inferno-
Wow Steve,
This is GREAT!!!
Thank you!


More from the Triboro Inferno-
PS: My parents LOVE the photos you took of our team. THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN!!!


BAYSL United-
Steve,
Thank you so much for the pictures. You did an awesome job with these pictures. Next year when we return you will be the first person we call. Thanks again.

 

Details- The cost to have your team shot is $80 if the arrangements are made in advance of the tournament weekend.  Contact us at steve@fotofink.net for details.  We will take requests at the tournament as well, but the cost will jump to $100 per team.  If you really need to hear my voice, you can call me at 570-350-3677.... but I am just going to ask for your email address so we can transact business online anyway.

Fine print-  We will do our best to shoot everyone on the team, but weather, injuries and coaches decisions may make that impossible.  If two of three players have chipped in to cover the cost, let us know which ones they are, and we will make sure to emphasize those players.  Requests will be scheduled on game day only as time allows- the better way to do this is to register in advance!

But wait, there's more!!!- We can shoot individual players also- the arrangements will be different though.  Check with us at the tent on game day for details there.  Come check out the cool merchandise we will have on display too!

Don't wait!

The Weight

Since many viewers from the Ice Breaker Relays may be new all things FotoFink, it seems sensible to have a bit of a "how-to" post on the blog to guide and introduce our newest friends.  After all- the weight of learning a new website can be overwhelming.  As a side note.... that link should have opened in a new browser window-  Let it play while you read this- you deserve the break.  It's my habit to inject a little music into my posts, usually something that I've been listening to, or timely.  In this case, RIP Levon Helm.

Happily- as of Thursday night, 4/26....  All the photos are posted.  1,600 plus from the day, thanks in no small part to my second shooter for the day- Antonio.  Thanks to those of you who recognized the FotoFink T-shirt, and hammed it up for him as you usually do for me.

We did our best to shoot a wide variety of competitors- but its just not possible to be everywhere with a staff of 2 people for the day.  This event came together at the last minute after a series of complex negotiations (me-  "Can I?  them-   "Sure") so as much as I may have liked to have shooters at every event, all day- it wasn't possible for this time.  My apologies to girls' pole vault, and boys' high jump, which I am pretty sure were missed totally. Edit: There are actually a couple of girls' pole vault shots.  Hopefully, we captured those athletes in other events, and anyone who won a medal should have a shot from the podium.  If we missed you, and you would like some photos, feel free to contact me and we can talk about having us out to shoot another event.  The "Contact FotoFink' button on the website works really well for that.

Note that photos are sorted into both event and school.  Thoughtful people may wonder "My daughter was in the high jump, and she competed for Pittson.  Which gallery should she be in?"  The answer is both.  If I tagged and sorted everything correctly, then the same photos will likely appear in more than one place.  Please make sure to visit the unclassified gallery as well- for the shots where I could not identify a team or event.  As a last resort- the full gallery has every shot from the day in it- it will take a while, but you can check there to be completely thorough and find any errors I may have made.  (Thanks honey.....)

As you browse, please take note of the "buy" button near every photo. (subliminal message...  the buy button is your friend.  LOVE the buy button....)  The relays are a fund raiser, and I will be donating a percentage of sales (prior to 5/31/12) back to the cause.  You have a chance to support the team, and get some great prints as well-  Win/Win.  Note that the event will stay online until at least that time, and will be removed shortly after- buy early and often!  Note that the shots you see online are low-resolution previews- your final copies will be cropped, color corrected, sharpened, and adjusted for brightness, contrast and clarity.  Of course, the watermark will also be removed.....

Thank you again for having me out to shoot your athletes.  The weather turned out to be great, enough so that I was able to capture the newest event- the Wallenpaupack Water Crawl.  More questions?  Would you like to arrange for FotoFink to shoot your team, graduation party or wedding?  Contact me- sfinkernagel@hotmail.com, or by using the "Contact FotoFink" button on the website.  Want more still?  Ask to join the FotoFink group on facebook.  Follow me on Twitter (@FotoFink).  Teach me Google+ so I can do that too....

Enough from me-  Here's what you want-

Ice Breakers 2012

All of FotoFink

Enjoy!

Feel Like a Number

Far too long between posts here at FotoFink, so here's a fast one....
Many of you may know that I have a couple of ways to track "Hits" on the website.  I have no way to know if its accurate or not, and in fact, the 2 methods never produce identical results.  The one I trust most, however, suggests that sometime in April, FotoFink will have its three millionth hit.

I don't recall exactly when I started tracking with that tool, other than to know that it was not from the very start of this project.  In truth then, 3,000,000 may have already come and gone...  but lets go with that for a minute.

Three million times, someone has been interested enough in the photos to click again.  I'm humbled.  I have always tried to make sure that you don't feel like a number here- I consider most of you friends and extended families.  That's hokey sounding, but its true.  I have witnessed your triumphs and failures on the athletic fields, I've met your new babies, I've been at your weddings, and I've been to your performances on stage. I've seen you at your best, and sometimes not.

I'm not foolish enough to think that I would have had the chance to do all of that were it not for photography.  I still appreciate it though.  And I LOVE being FotoFink.  Thank you all.

Some recent stuff-

Redeemer Boys Volleyball team and individual shots

Redeemer Track Scrimmage

Wilkes Baseball v Immaculata

Nicole Turner's Sweet 16

More coming- from all kinds of places.  The spring is a busy time.  Enjoy it all here-

Moondance

I have to confess- there are a few shoots that I come to look forward to-  and ski club is always one of them.  The group photo is always a challenge to set up- tight quarters and bad lighting are never a good mix.  Remember the year we threw a few folks out of their seats for this shot? Mrs Fink as the Pizza Nazi?  Jimmy's last moment with an intact ACL?  This season's skiing schoolgirls? Good times.  Action shots were turned up a notch in the last season or so when lights were brought into the mix, so the shoot has become far more of a production- and the results have become far more interesting.

Here's a bit of a photo lesson, for those that are interested....  (waiting for the room to clear..... ) Ok- for the 2 of you that are left-  Light falls off (dies/dims/whatever) according to the inverse square law.  Suffice it to say, that means that light gets dim very quickly as it moves further from the source.  So light from a flash that is enough to illuminate a jumping skier 20 feet away, will not be anywhere near bright enough to light the background that is 200+ feet away.  The end result are these very cool (IMO) photos that look like some sort of moondance- well lit subjects, very black backgrounds, and snow that could almost pass for the lunar surface (I guess- what do I know about the lunar surface....).  The photos are cool to me because.... well- they look cool, and not everyone would make the effort to create them.  Thanks to my assistants and models for their time and efforts- this is far more than a one-man operation.

Also on a photographic note- these shoots, like many, are a bit experimental.  Not only in technique, but in equipment as well.  In the last several trips out, we've learned several things:
1. It's cold in the winter time.  Some kind of gloves that allow fingers to work the camera buttons are a huge help.
2.  Cold affects batteries- a lot.  Storing extra batteries in a camera bag on the snow will render them useless.
3.  5 stars to the inexpensive flashes from Yongnuo.  Those are manual only, but if I were looking for something with ETTL capabilities, I would not hesitate to get this one.
4.  In spite of a catchy name that suggest otherwise, the Frio is probably not suited for cold-weather use.  We snapped 2 of them in the course of the shoot.

A few comments on that musical link before this is over-  There are plenty of versions of Van Morrison's classic available online, and honestly,  better ones.  Check out that lineup of musicians though-  Joining Van onstage are Carlos Santana, Dr. John, Tom Scott (confession- I don't know who he is.....) Etta James skatting (For the younger fans, skatting is like rap, only it requires musical talent).  Comments on the page suggest the George Benson is in there too- I am guessing he has the guitar part in the early middle.  Carlos drew me in, but that's quite a lineup beyond that.

One more night of ski club, and no- I will not be shooting again.  Twice should be enough.  Links are below-

01/21/12

02/03/12

FotoFink

Enjoy!